, 1887-12-29

must be rapid. Spokane Falls il, oi
course, too small as yet to be able to
offer any inducements in the way OF
direct aid to SO large railroad as the
st. Paul and Manitoba, but the citi-
zens can materially hasten the ad-
vent OF chat road by presenting its
advantages as future railroad CEN
ter and its statistics of its present i'm
portance, to the management of that
road. After another transcontinental
line has reached here, the impetus it
will give to the development OF our
manufactures and commerce and the
enhancement of real estate values
will result in the creation OF at least
sufficient surplus OF wealth to enable
our citizens to interest themselves in
smaller branch railroads radiating to
the different mining, agricultural and
timber sections surrounding us. This
is impossible now, because with only
one branch line to connect with, no
independent branch railroad could
exist. 1t would be compelled to &C
cede. to any terms demanded; but with
another branch line, such branch
could choose it's customer.
The Seattle, Lake Shore and East
ern railway coming from the west,
whether independent of the Manitoba
road or allied with it, is also most
important connection for Spokane
Falls, and Our citizens should, when
the time comes, put their shoulders to
the wheel and secure it's entrance di-
rectly into the city. There seems to
be no immediate fear of the consum-
nation of the o. II. Il N. lease by the
Northern Pacific, and it is question
able how long such lease would
hold after another rival road entered
the field, hence it is safe to say that
the o. II. & N. will not forever remain
within sixty miles of Spokane Falls,
but, on the contrary, that it will make
speedy entrance to this city. Next
comes the Canadian Pacific which,
with a branch line of 95 miles and
$50 miles of navigation, could be
given connection with Spokane Falls.
Let us for moment contemplate the
railroad map of this section of coun-
try, with Spokane Falls as a center.
and as it will appear about the year
1895, or eight years hence:
A line will be constructed and
operated from here to the Little
Dalles, and possibly all the way to
Ravelstake, giving us connection with
the Canadian Pacific.
The Manitoba road will give us
with st. Paul, and likewise
the Northern Pacific; the Union
Pacific will enable us to travel to
San Francisco, and likewise the O. r..
S NJ by wav Of Portland
The Central Pacific and Southern
Pacific will by that time find an ent-
rance into eastern Washington, and,
Of course, to Spokane Falls; the
Seattle, Lake Shore and East
ern will connect us with Seattle, the |
Northern Pacific with Tacoma, the
with Whatcom or some 9th
er point on Bellingham bay. BY
that time the Columbia river will no
doubt be made navigable as far as
the mouth of the Spobane river, and
short line sixty miles long will enable
us to reach navigable water. The
Spokane and Palouse will bring us
wheat from the Palouse country to be |
ground into -four; the Spokane Falls
and Idaho will haul the ores of the |
Occur d'Alenes into this city to be re-
auced and smelted; the Lake Shore,
Seattle and Eastern will bring the
wheat Of the Puget sound country
and the ores of the Okanogan coun-
Try to this point; the Colville branch
will bring the ores, hay and timber
from that direction. This seems a
and Intoxicating vision,
out when I saw Denver in 1870 it's